Brazil’s Lula unveils $200 billion infrastructure plan as skeptics caution about spending spree

By DIANE JEANTET
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has unveiled a plan to spend 1 trillion reais (nearly $200 billion) on infrastructure, energy and transportation over the next four years in a bid to boost economic growth and employment in Latin America’s largest nation. The Growth Acceleration Program, also known under its acronym PAC in Portuguese, has been met with skepticism by financial analysts and investors, who say previous, similarly ambitious programs have included projects that never saw the light of day and opened the door to vast corruption schemes. Funding included in this year’s PAC spans over four years, and will go towards a myriad of projects, from new highways and ports to urbanization programs in slums and energy efficiency.